Sea Fortress

I remember the bulwarks by the shore,     And the fort upon the hill; The sun-rise gun, with its hollow roar, The drum-beat repeated o'er and o'er,     And the bugle wild and shrill.         And the music of that old song         Throbs in my memory still:     "A boy's will is the wind's will, And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), My Lost Youth

Each Other

Like two doomed ships that pass in storm     We had crossed each other's way: -Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), The Ballad of Reading Gaol

Phantom Listener

But only a host of phantom listeners     That dwelt in the lone house then Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight     To that voice from the world of men: -Walter De La Mare (1873 - 1956), The Listeners

Phantom Towers

But mostly he watched with eager search The belfry's tower of the Old North Church, As it rose above the graves on the hill, Lonely and spectral and sombre and still. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), Paul Revere's Ride

Lights So Many and Fair

The skiff-boat neared: I heard them talk, "Why, this is strange, I trow! Where are those lights so many and fair, That signal made but now?" -Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 1798

Long Night

No rays from the holy heaven come down On the long night-time of that town; But light from out the lurid sea Streams up the turrets silently-- Gleams up the pinnacles far and free Up domes--up spires--up kingly halls-- Up fanes--up Babylon-like walls-- Up shadowy long-forgotten bowers Of sculptured ivy and stone flowers-- Up many and many a marvellous shrine Whose wreathéad friezes intertwine The viol, the violet, and the vine. -Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), The City in the Sea

Sea Thunders

I remember the sea-fight far away,     How it thundered o'er the tide! And the dead captains, as they lay In their graves, o'erlooking the tranquil bay,     Where they in battle died.         And the sound of that mournful song         Goes through me with a thrill:     "A boy's will is the wind's will, And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), My Lost Youth

Fire and Steel

Out of her secret paradise she sped,     Through camps and cities rough with stone and steel -Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), Adonais

Second Lamp

And lo! as he looks, on the belfry height A glimmer, and then a gleam of light! He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns, But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight A second lamp in the belfry burns! -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), Paul Revere's Ride

Sound and Fury

The knotty forestick laid apart, And filled between with curious art The ragged brush; then, hovering near, We watched the first red blaze appear, Heard the sharp crackle, caught the gleam On whitewashed wall and sagging beam, Until the old, rude-furnished room Burst, flower-like, into rosy bloom; -John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 - 1892), Snow-Bound; A Winter Idyl

Mysterious Ships

I remember the black wharves and the slips,     And the sea-tides tossing free; And Spanish sailors with bearded lips, And the beauty and mystery of the ships,     And the magic of the sea.         And the voice of that wayward song         Is singing and saying still:     "A boy's will is the wind's will, And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), My Lost Youth

Forever Fair

Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss, Though winning near the goal--yet, do not grieve;         She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,     For ever wilt though love, and she be fair! -John Keats (1795-1821), Ode on a Grecian Urn

Flowers of Light

I remember, I remember, The roses, red and white, The violets, and the lily-cups, Those flowers made of light! -Thomas Hood (1799-1845), I Remember, I Remember

High Romance

When I behold, upon the night's starred face,     Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance, And think that I may never live to trace     Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance; -John Keats (1795-1821), When I Have Fears

Tempestuous Burst

from which a glorious Phantom may Burst, to illumine our tempestuous day. -Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), England in 1819

Kindred Lights

A godlike mind soars forth, in its delight         Making earth bare and veiling heaven; and when     It sinks, the swarms that dimmed or shared its light Leave to its kindred lamps the spirit's awful night. -Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), Adonais

Glorious Phantom

from which a glorious Phantom may Burst, to illumine our tempestuous day. -Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), England in 1819

Dying Light

"Leave me not wild and drear and comfortless,         As silent lightning leaves the starless night!     Leave me not!" cried Urania. Her distress Roused Death: Death rose and smiled, and met her vain caress. -Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), Adonais

Vigil

Lo! in yon brilliant window-niche    How statue-like I see thee stand,    The agate lamp within thy hand! Ah, Psyche, from the regions which    Are Holy-Land! -Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), To Helen